In the estuary, flathead continue to dominate. The fish are spread throughout the estuary with areas upstream in the Hastings and Maria still fishing best despite the recent fresh. Numbers closer to Port are on the improve, with some nice lizards taken from the Back Channel, Blackmans Point, Hibbard and around Westport. Best bait whitebait, but heaps of quality fish on blades and soft plastics. Some quality bream, although they are beginning to lose a bit of condition as is usual for this time of year. The recent influx of cool water has slowed whiting action a tad, but they are again beginning to feed more aggressively. Still plenty of school mulloway in the entire system, with those throwing larger soft plastics doing particularly well, although live worms fished around the breakwalls is also a tried and proven method.
Off the beaches, the drop in water temperature has not been helpful with few species apart from salmon active when the water was so cool. The cold current appears to have moved on and action has picked up. Daytime anglers have been snaring the odd bream and whiting from the northern part of Lighthouse on live worms. Evening sessions are producing solid numbers of mulloway from whiting size up to around 4kg.
On the rocks, a few terrific tailor to around 5kg have been about although not in great numbers. Best reports from Camden Haven, Diamond Head, Point Perpendicular and Grants Head at Bonny Hills. A few drummer were still on offer with Point Plomer and Miners reasonable. Bream numbers remain reasonable especially at night, while a few blackfish and groper are still being extracted from Bonny Hills and Point Perpendicular.
Outside reports have been patchy with no two consecutive days seeing similar conditions. One day we have wind, the next strong currents and so on. Best reports continue to involve kingfish, with Trag Rock off Plomer producing fish to around 8kg on livies and jigs, together with a few nice samson fish. Bottom bouncers have been scoring the odd pearl perch, snapper and flatties, whilst the lead up to the recent full moon saw quite a few teraglin to around 4kg taken.
Jason and Virginia Isaac
Ned Kelly’s Bait and Tackle
(02) 6583 8318jasned@ozemail.com.au